A network is a collection of links and nodes (e.g., multiple computers and/or other devices connected together) arranged so that information may be passed from one part of the network to another over multiple links and through various nodes. Examples of networks include the Internet, the public switched telephone network, the global Telex network, computer networks (e.g., an intranet, an extranet, a local-area network, or a wide-area network), wired networks, and wireless networks.
The Internet is a worldwide network of computers and computer networks arranged to allow the easy and robust exchange of information between computer users. Hundreds of millions of people around the world have access to computers connected to the Internet via Internet Service Providers (ISPs). Content providers place multimedia information (e.g., text, graphics, audio, video, animation, and other forms of data) at specific locations on the Internet referred to as webpages. Websites comprise a collection of connected, or otherwise related, webpages. The combination of all the websites and their corresponding webpages on the Internet is generally known as the World Wide Web (WWW) or simply the Web.
Prevalent on the Web are multimedia websites, some run by Merchants, offering and selling goods and services to individuals and organizations (i.e., potential Customers). Websites may consist of a single webpage, but typically consist of multiple interconnected and related webpages. Websites, unless extremely large and complex or have unusual traffic demands, typically reside on a single server and are prepared and maintained by a single individual or entity. Menus and links may be used to move between different webpages within the website or to move to a different website as is known in the art. The interconnectivity of webpages enabled by the Internet can make it difficult for Internet users to tell where one website ends and another begins.
Websites may be created using HyperText Markup Language (HTML) to generate a standard set of tags that define how the webpages for the website are to be displayed. Users of the Internet may access content providers' websites using software known as an Internet browser, such as MICROSOFT INTERNET EXPLORER or MOZILLA FIREFOX. After the browser has located the desired webpage, it requests and receives information from the webpage, typically in the form of an HTML document, and then displays the webpage content for the user. The user then may view other webpages at the same website or move to an entirely different website using the browser.
Browsers are able to locate specific websites because each website, resource, and computer on the Internet has a unique Internet Protocol (IP) address. Presently, there are two standards for IP addresses. The older IP address standard, often called IP Version 4 (IPv4), is a 32-bit binary number, which is typically shown in dotted decimal notation, where four 8-bit bytes are separated by a dot from each other (e.g., 64.202.167.32). The notation is used to improve human readability. The newer IP address standard, often called IP Version 6 (IPv6) or Next Generation Internet Protocol (IPng), is a 128-bit binary number. The standard human readable notation for IPv6 addresses presents the address as eight 16-bit hexadecimal words, each separated by a colon (e.g., 2EDC:BA98:0332:0000:CF8A:000C:2154:7313).
IP addresses, however, even in human readable notation, are difficult for people to remember and use. A Uniform Resource Locator (URL) is much easier to remember and may be used to point to any computer, directory, or file on the Internet. A browser is able to access a website on the Internet through the use of a URL. The URL may include a Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) request combined with the website's Internet address, also known as the website's domain name. An example of a URL with a HTTP request and domain name is: http://www.companyname.com. In this example, the “http” identifies the URL as a HTTP request and the “companyname.com” is the domain name.
Domain names are much easier to remember and use than their corresponding IP addresses. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) approves some Generic Top-Level Domains (gTLD) and delegates the responsibility to a particular organization (a “registry”) for maintaining an authoritative source for the registered domain names within a TLD and their corresponding IP addresses. For certain TLDs (e.g., .biz, .info, .name, and .org) the registry is also the authoritative source for contact information related to the domain name and is referred to as a “thick” registry. For other TLDs (e.g., .com and .net) only the domain name, registrar identification, and name server information is stored within the registry, and a registrar is the authoritative source for the contact information related to the domain name. Such registries are referred to as “thin” registries. Most gTLDs are organized through a central domain name Shared Registration System (SRS) based on their TLD.
Some Internet users, typically those that are larger and more sophisticated, may provide their own hardware, software, and connections to the Internet. But many Internet users either do not have the resources available or do not want to create and maintain the infrastructure necessary to host their own websites. To assist such individuals (or entities), hosting companies exist that offer website hosting services. These Hosting Providers typically provide the hardware, software, and electronic communication means necessary to connect multiple websites to the Internet. A single Hosting Provider may literally host thousands of websites on one or more hosting servers.
Websites allow individuals and businesses to share their information and conduct business with a large number of Internet users. Many products and services are offered for sale on the Internet, thus elevating the Internet to an essential tool of commerce. Merchants, whether large corporations, small corporations, or individuals, are rapidly creating websites to take advantage of the growing number of Customers using the Internet and customers' increasing willingness to purchase goods and services over the Web. Websites created by Internet businesses may be reached by millions of Internet savvy customers, thereby allowing Internet businesses to offer their products and services to a very large pool of potential Customers.
For Internet users and businesses alike, the Internet continues to be increasingly valuable. More people use the Web for everyday tasks, from social networking, shopping, banking, and paying bills to consuming media and entertainment. eCommerce (i.e., buying and selling products or services over electronic systems such as the Internet) is growing, with businesses delivering more services and content across the Internet, communicating and collaborating online, and inventing new ways to connect with each other.
At least three distinct entities are involved in any eCommerce transaction conducted via a website: a Merchant; a Customer; and the Hosting Provider hosting the Merchant's website. During the eCommerce transaction, each of these entities has access to information about the other entities that may allow for fraud. For example, a fraudulent Merchant and/or Hosting Provider may engage in phishing (i.e., fraudulently acquiring sensitive information, such as usernames, passwords and credit card details, by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication), and a fraudulent Customer may attempt to use an unauthorized credit card. It is therefore important that each entity involved in an eCommerce transaction be trusted by the other entities.
Applicant, however, has noticed that presently-existing methods do not provide adequate means for entities involved in eCommerce transactions to determine whether sufficient trust levels exists to proceed with a transaction. For the foregoing reasons, there is a need for the methods of rating and validating eCommerce transactions and related functionality as described herein.